Wax-finish remover



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JOEE F, HURLEY, 0F DENVER, COLORADG.

WAX-FINISH REMOVEE.

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Ito Ilrawingi To all whom it may concern.

Be it known that 1, JOHN F. HURLEY,a citizen of the United States,residing at Denver, in the county of Denver and State of Colorado, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in a Wax-Finish Remover;and he does hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exactdescription of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in theart to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to detergent compositions of the class known asfinish reniovers, and to a process of making them. It appertains morespecifically to compositions adapted to romove Waxy coatings such aspolishes containing a Waxy body.

An object of the invention is to produce a composition having thecapacity to remove a. waxy polish or. wax-coatlng completely and easilywithout injury to the surface underneath said waxy polish or coating.

It comprises, in general, a process of treating a soap solution with anacld, capable of reacting with the soap, and freeing a portion of thefatty acid, and then adding a small quantity of a soap solvent havingalso a mild loosening action on a waxy coating; and it also comprises apasty or gelatlnous, semi-liquid composition, resulting from the saidprocess, having the detergent proper ties. of soap, and the property ofloosen ng the Waxy polish or other wax-containlng surface coating sothat it may be completely washed away without destruction of or 1njuryto the subjacent surface. Reference is made to the appended claims,Wl1lCl'1 more particularly point out and distinctly define the processand product comprised in my invention. I

It is a commonpractice. to coat; floors, furniture, motor or othervehicle bodles, and numerous other objects, with a pol sh containingsome form of vegetable, animal or lwax which ma be rendered lossy mmem IV g solved and while the solution is still hot, a

by friction, and the gloss of which, when dulled by time and atmosphericinfluence, may be renewed by rubbing with brushes or polishing cloths. Wan coatings are frequently applied over a varnished orpainted surface.llhe presence of a wax pOllSh offers a serious obstacle to repainting orre varnishing, since. the paint pr varnish will not dry properly whenapplied over a wax,

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 31, 1921.,

Application filed July 6, 1920. Serial No. 394,316.

and if so applied it quickly loses its luster and tends to crack orcheck. It is necessary, therefore, to remove all vestiges of wax polish,as well as greasy substances (to which motor vehicle bodies, inparticular, are pecullarly exposed) which tend to mingle with it, as anessential preliminary to or revarnishing, It is impracticable to scrapeaway a wax coating without marring the surface beneath, particularlywhen said coating is laid over varnish or paint; sand papers and thelike become clogged with wax and are not effective, even if theirscratchy action were not prohibitive of their use. The known strongalkaline and benzolic removers are unsuitable for use in removing waXcoatings applied over paint or varnish where it is desired to retain thefoundation coat uninjured.

The composition herein disclosed is adapted to effectively loosen a waxycoating applied over paint or varnish, so that all traces of it may bewiped away, without injury to the underlying coating.

In preparing my wax-coating remover'll take a quantityof soap,preferably a hard laundry soap containing sodium oleate, or sodiumoleate and stearate, divide itlnto small parts to facilitatedissolution, and mix it with a quantity of water sufficient tothoroughly dissolve the soap, when heated, but not suflicient to freethe fatty acid therefrom. A stronger, even substantially a saturatedsolution of the soap. in hot water is adequate for the purpose of theinvention. Having placed the soap in water, the mixture should be heateduntil all of the soap is dissolved. I have found that approximately onepart of soap to four parts of water by weight is a suitable proportion,one half pound of soap dissolved in one quart of water constituting asatisfactory soap solution. During solution the water may be heatednearly or quite to the boiling point.

After the soap has been completely disquantity of an acid capable ofreacting with the soap should beadded to the solution and the mixture ofsoap solution and acid thoroughly agitated. Although most acids willreact with a soap solution, freeing the fatty acids, an acid should beselected that will not produce, as a result of the reaction, a substanceinjurious to the underlying surrepainting face to which thewaxy-coating-removing composition is to be applied; also, a quantity ofacid should be used such that the whole of the acid will be neutralizedin the reaction and some material quantity of soap will remainunchanged. I have found oxalic acid to be most suitable for the purpose,as it and its reaction products with soap 'do not injure varnish orpaint over which the waxy-coating may be applied, and that approximatelyone part of acid to eight parts of soap by weight will effect the resultdesired.

The mixture having assumed a gelatinous, pasty or semi-liquid conditionas a result of the reaction, is allowed to cool. A

small quantity of soap-solvent, havinga.

generally alcoholic action as a wax'coating loosener, is then stirredinto the pasty mixture and thoroughly disseminated through it. Thissoap-solvent may be a finish loosener such as acetone, but is preferablyan alcohol. For practical reasons I have used the lower alcoholspreferably the denatured alcohol of commerce and have found that aboutone part of alcohol to eight parts of soap (by weight) constitutes asuitable mixture.

A satisfactory formula for the manufac ture of my wax coating remover isas follows:

Eight ounces of laundry soap.

One quart of water.

One ounce of oxalic acid.

One fluid ounce of denatured alcohol.

In use the composition may be applied to a waxed surface by means of abrush, damp sponge or the like, and allowed to remain on the surface asufficient time for it to loosen the waxy material. It should not,however, be permitted to dry. From ton to twenty minutes has been foundto be sufficient. Then the surface must be thoroughly washed with water.All of the wax polish or other waxy coating will be removed with thedetergent composition.

The fatty acids in the composition are be 'lieved to attack the Wax,partially dissolve and loosen it from its mechanical hold upon thesurface, renderingit soft. The soap partially emulsifies the wax,rendering it susceptible of easy removal, and attacks dirt and greaselikely to be found adhering to or mixed in the Waxy coating. The alcoholaids in loosening the wax and in dissolving other ingredients of thepolish, and has an important function in retarding the tendency of thesoap to harden.

When oxalic acid is used with a solution of a sodium soap there will bea sodium oxalate formed as a result of the reaction. The sodium oxalateis supposed to besubstantially inert in the composition but probably hasa valuable function giving body to the paste. 1

neeoaea @wing to the gelatinous state of the composition, it does notrun on vertical surfaces but remains long enough to permit it to loosenthe coating thereon; it also imprisons the more volatile constituents,retarding their evaporation.

The soap, in addition to its detergent, adhesive andevaporation-retarding properties, renders the composition smooth, easyworking and readily removable. I

have found that the described composition willremove all waxy polishesof which I have knowledge.

Having described my invention in the form now best known to me, what Iclaim and now desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A process of making a wax-coating remover which consists in preparinga strong solution of soap in water, then introducing sufficient weakacid into the solution to react with a portion only of the soap,agitating the mixture, and finally adding a wax-coating looseningmaterial capable of dissolving soap.

2. A process of making a wax-coating remover which consists in preparinga strong solution of soap in water, then introducing sufficient weakacid into the solution to react with a portion, only, of the soap,agitating the .mixture, and finally adding a relatively small quantityof a lower alcohol.

3. A process of making a wax-coating remover which consists in preparinga strong solution of soap in water, then introducing suflicient oxalicacid to react with a portion, only, of the soap, agitating the mixture,and adding a relatively small quantity of a wax-coating looseningmaterial capable of dissolving soap.

4. A process of making a wax-coating re mover which consists in addingsubstantially, eight parts of soap to thirty-two parts of water, byweight, heating the water and dis solving the soap therein, introducinginto the hot solution substantially one part by weight of oxalic acid,agitating the mixture, allowing it to cool and adding substantially onepart by weighteof alcohol.

5. A process of preparing a wax-coating remover which consists in addingsubstantially e1ght parts of soap containing sodium oleate to thirty-twoparts of water by weight, heating the water and dissolving the soaptherein, introducing into the hot solution substantially one part byweight of oxalic acid, agitating the mixture, allowing it to cool andadding substantially one part by weight of alcohol.

6. Acom osition for removing wax-coat- 1ngs for varnish or othersurfaces resulting from the mixture, by weight, of an aqueous solutionof substantially eight parts of soap in thirty-two parts of water,withone part of a weak acid capable of reacting with soap, and one partof a generally alcoholic Wax-coating loosening solvent capable ofdissolving soap.

7. A composltlon for removmg Wax-coat ings for varnish or other surfacesresulting from the mixture, by weight, of an aqueous solution ofsubstantially eight parts of soap in thirty-two parts of Water, With onepart of oxalic acid and one part of a generally alcoholic Wax-coatingloosening solvent capable of dissolving soap.

ings for varnish or other surfaces resulting from the mixture, byWeight, of an aqueous solution of substantially eight parts of soapcontaining sodium oleate in thirty-two parts of Water, one part ofoxalic acid and one part of alcohol. I

10. A composition for removing Wax-coatings for varnish or othersurfaces comprising essentially a pasty mixture, by Weight, ofapproximately eight parts of vmixed soap and free fatty acid, one partof a soap solvent having a generally alcoholic waxcoating looseningaction, and substantially thirty two parts of Water.

11. A composition of pasty consistency for removing wax coatings fromvarnish or other surfaces, consisting substantially of free oleic acid,soap, sodium oxalate, a lower alcohol and Water.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature.

JOHN F. HURLEY.

